Chapter 10 – Ghoul at the Feat

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Jackie stirred. He'd been lying against a bushy plantain, bey clutched in one hand, walky-talky in the other. He'd nearly dozed off.

"I am… but… I am lost." He said, drowsily.

"Are you still in the city? Can you see any signposts?"

"Nope."

Chantelle glared at her walky-talky impatiently from the city centre. The connection was getting worse as she was walking, and now all she could hear was an almost incoherent mumble of words accompanied by buzzing.

That and she had the faintest impression Jackie was just stalling so he didn't have to be with her.

She pouted as she walked along, but kept her mouth determinedly on the receiver.

"Walk around, see if you can find any signs!" she said, "ask someone for directions! We still need to have another beybattle, and then after that we need to go to the arcade and you need to take me swimming!"

She turned and walked back the way she came from. The connection was becoming clearer.

"… no' one to ask directions for…"

"Stay there!" she said. An idea had occurred to her.

Barging past the last hurdle of shoppers, she stopped at the crossroad and put her walky-talky to her mouth, again.

"What does it look like, where you are?"

She held the receiver up, pointing it in various directions. When Jackie answered, she determined the direction he was coming from by measuring which way the signal was strongest. She went south, continuing to send messages and listening to the replies carefully to determine if she was going in the right direction.

She soon found herself at the foot of a hill, and gazed up it in disbelief that any taxi had ventured this far from any specified location.

"Did you say it was hilly where you were?"

"Yeah."

"Stay there!"

His return message was so clear this time, Chantelle knew this had to be it. She began to climb. It was a painstaking walk, but she knew she could make it. She'd done it before with her friend, Paula.

Jackie's walky-talky hadn't buzzed in a while. He'd been dozing soundly when she came.

"AT LEAST YOU STAYED THIS TIME!" she shouted at him, making him jump.

Chantelle stood over him, indignant as ever, hands on hips.

"Chantelle!" He said, mind flitting for an excuse. "I took a nap while I was looking…"

"I'll tell on you if you keep making up excuses."

"So… how did you manage to find me?"

Chantelle dropped her walky-talky on the grass beside his. There was a short, faint buzzing as the pair came within close proximity.

"Oh…"

She dropped her rucksack and looked around. Jackie stood up, adjusting his hood.

"I know you didn't get a taxi here, that was a really stupid excuse. You went up by yourself to get away from me. You could've just told me, you know! What is this place? It's scary here!"

"The Clow shrine." He told her. "It's not scary here… I come here all the time when I need to be alone."

Jackie's hands fell to his pockets. He searched for his bey, but then saw it lying on the ground a short distance away. The core seemed to wink at them.

"This is the home of the protector of Clow," Jackie said, "or used to be… the protector bit of the city used to live here."

"I don't get what you mean."

"You know what a bit-beast is… right?"

"Sorta'…" Chantelle replied. "They're like, spiritual things, aren't they? My mum says they're really dangerous. My friend Paula doesn't believe in them, though."

"They're not dangerous, but they're definitely real. Aren't you from around here?"

Chantelle shook her head. "We moved here last year."

"Come over here."

He stood within the boundaries of the pavilion, by the stalagmite. Chantelle seemed to be fixated on the giant structure that acted as a central beam to the pavilion, something that must be unusual to see on a hot day like this, after all.

"What's that?"

"It's where the bit resided," Jackie said, "it lived here, watching over the city, for many years… waiting for a worthy familiar, a partner… and then it found one."

"And who's that?"

Jackie hesitated, but somehow instinct reassured him it was safe to divulge his secret to this person. "Me."

"And why should I believe THAT?" she asked.

Jackie held out his bey, and pressed it into the stalagmite. At once, the icy structure started to radiate with a blue glow, and the bubbles inside it gathered at the exact place the bey was pressed.

Chantelle quivered beside him. All sense of time was lost to them, it could've been seconds, minutes, hours, before Jackie pocketed his bey and the aura was gone.

Jackie said, "Perseus chose me the year I started beyblading. I was about your age."

"Y-you've… you've got to tell me something."

"What?"

"Where can I get a bit-beast?"

Jackie looked at her and wished he could return a different answer to the one he now told her.

"You have to earn one," he said, "you're chosen by the bit itself, if they see potential in you."

"And what do I have to do to show that?"

"It depends on the person," Jackie said. He knew he was being vague, but truthfully, he didn't know much about the familiar-bit relationship, being unable to explain even his own. He just knew his familiarity with Perseus had been fated from the beginning.

Chantelle stared at the stalagmite for a few moments more, and turned to face Jackie. She wanted to bombard him with more questions, but something else had occurred to her, so she stopped herself.

"Thank you." She muttered.

"Huh?"

"I was going to ask you to battle with me again, go shopping with me, find a new bey together and then go swimming," she said. "… But this is much better. Thank you for spending the afternoon with me like this."

"What, making you run around trying to find me?"

"No, for showing me this. I've never known about the Clow shrine before, and now I do, I know I want a bit-beast of my own and I'll do whatever it takes to get one."

He nodded. "I know you'll be a familiar one day. But first you have to become a better beyblader."

"I know. You'll help me, won't you?"

"Yeah. Just one thing," he said, scratching the back of his head, "you can't copy EVERYTHING I do, you have to find your own way of doing things sometimes."

Chantelle took out her Bellfire bey and clicked it against his.

"Gotcha'," she said, a little embarrassed. "I'll keep this one, for now. Okay?"

"Alright."

"Let's go back. We've gotta' hurry, or they'll think we're missing!"

"Technically, we ARE missing. We're all the way up here."

They went back down the hill. Unbeknownst to them, the Blade Bandits watched them from the tree, smirking.

"Did ya' give it to him, Sciro?" Owyn asked, his foot on the adjacent branch.

Scirocco was at the foot of the tree, obscured behind the trunk. "You bet. I put the letter in his rucksack – or at least… I think tha' was his."

Electra was sat next to Owyn. "What makes you so sure that he's the Perseus familiar, though?"

"Electra, didn't ya' see the way that stalagmite reacted to his bey? He's gotta' be. No other explanation, is there?"

"I don't get why ya' didn't challenge him here and now, Owyn. We're bandits, we don't play by the rules, anyways." Scirocco said.

"Blade Bandits is just a name, Sciro." Owyn replied, "really, I ain't gonna' just force him to give me the bit, otherwise it won't feel right taking it. You 'eard him tell that girl… you EARN a bit. I'm gonna' give him a day's notice to battle me."

"I just hope when he reads the letter he'll know where to go," Electra nodded.

"'m sure he will."

"But Owyn," Scirocco said, actually looking resentful.

"No ifs or buts, Sciro. I'm the leader of the team, and this is how I want things to be done." Owyn said, hopping from the tree. "And, ya' listen 'ere. When we battle, I'll win and take back what was promised to my family so many centuries ago… the Perseus bit."

The next day, Chantelle couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Jackie. Now she knew they were real, she desired a bit-beast for herself, something that would make her beyblading as good as his.

She sat looking absent-minded throughout her classes, and similarly during lunch.

Her friend, Rachel, took a seat next to her in the cafeteria.

"What's up with you, Chantelle?" she asked, snapping Chantelle out of her daydream.

"Oh – erm, nothing, Rachel!"

"You look deep in thought for some reason."

"It's nothing, Rach." Chantelle forced a smile, hand at the back of her head. "Say, was there any homework due for today's music lesson? Because I forgot, and you know what Mrs. Allen's like…"

"We don't have music this afternoon, we have Geography," she replied, "you did bring your textbook with you, right?"

"Oh – erm – sure! Actually, I'll just go check!"

Her mouth slightly ajar, Rachel watched Chantelle go. She ran into the nearest lavatory and slammed the door shut, then tipped the contents of her bag into the sink, anxious to find her textbook. Lucky the basin was dry.

"How can I be so stupid?!" she asked herself, "of course it's Geography today! I've been thinking about bit-beasts too long, my teacher is going to KILL me if I don't have my sup – "

As she scrambled through her stuff, something caught her attention. She bent down and picked up an envelope addressed to 'the familiar of Perseus'.

"The familiar of Perseus…? Isn't that Jackie's bit-beast?" Chantelle asked, her mind darting back to the subject of bit-beasts as quickly as it had left it.

She opened the letter and read, "this letter is for the eyes of the familiar of Perseus only. We, the Blade Bandits, invite you to a battle at the park in Ghoul Valley with the leader of our team, Owyn, at eight o'clock tomorrow (Friday). Owyn has long sought the Perseus bit after it was promised to his family centuries ago, however, they never retained it. As the true heir to the protector bit of Clow, Owyn will battle you and determine the true master of the bit. If you lose, the ownership of Perseus is in his hands. If you want to know more about Owyn's family and the history of the bit, we will willingly tell you when you arrive for battle. Do not try to hide, we know who you are and you will fight us for the bit, less we take it by force. Yours, the Blade Bandits."

The nearby tap dripped softly. Chantelle clutched the letter in one sweaty hand. Slowly, she crammed her things back into the bag and folded up the letter safely in her pocket.

"Ghoul Valley…" she whispered to herself, "isn't that on the other side of the hill?"

She looked up at her reflection. Her heart pounded with the urge to do something crazy.

"Jackie doesn't need to risk losing his bit-beast," Chantelle thought aloud, "I have to start proving myself if I ever want to become a familiar. Besides, what are friends for? I'll take the battle for him."

The daunting prospect ahead both excited and unnerved her. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the bell that signalled the end of school rang. She didn't look for her friends as usual, but instead left the school premises without a word and headed straight for the hills. She felt to make sure Bellfire was safely in her bag as she went.

She took the lane up to the hill, and began to ascend until the path slipped away. From there she went through the wilderness, through the trees and up to the shrine.

She paused to admire the mysterious stalagmite, then let her bag straps slip off her shoulders. She pulled out her bey, the letter and the pair of walky-talkies that were forbidden in school, but she'd kept immersed in her bag anyway.

She put the letter down and placed the walky-talkies on top of it. Jackie would know what she'd done when he came up here next.

"Come on, Chantelle, don't be scared," she re-assured herself, "it's just a game of spinning tops, after all."

She knew she couldn't get lost because she could see exactly where the valley was. She'd been there with her parents, after all; she'd be back in time for tea, win or lose the battle. She just couldn't let anyone take Jackie's bit from him.

Without a backwards glance, she took the hazardous path down the other side of the hill and into the valley below.

"Do you really reckon he'll find us, Owyn?"

"Sure."

"He's late. Bet he chickened out. That's how bladers from Clow are like."

Owyn tilted his hat to mask the annoyed look on his face. Scirocco stood beneath him, leaning against the climbing frame he had mounted. Electra was a short way away, looking at the hills.

Scirocco didn't drop the matter. "I say we go back to Clow, and find 'im ourselves. Why didn't we do that in the first place? 'Course he ain't gonna' surrender that bit if he can help it. Best just take it from him while he – "

"Shut the hell up." Owyn said.

Scirocco's facial expression twisted in anger. "Owyn, what the – "

"I told you, Sciro. I'm the leader of this team, and what I say, goes." Owyn continued, his hat still covering his eyes. "We're not thieves. I'm gonna' earn that bit if I can. If he doesn't show up, then we'll talk about forcing him to fight us."

"Owyn, you're being dumb. We've already wrecked enough beys, what's stealing one going to make any – "

"You know the Perseus bit don't choose outlaws, bit-beasts are spirits of honour, Sciro… what the hell'd you know?"

"I'm a familiar too, Owyn!" Scirocco fired up. "You wanna' know how my bit chose me?"

"Boys, please, stop fighting!" Electra said, hurrying over to them. "I've seen someone coming… they're coming down the path, here… it might be him!"

"Maybe it's one of them kids thinking we're gone." Scirocco said, shrugging.

Owyn turned. A figure was indeed trudging down the path, but the dying Sun cast long shadows and made them indistinguishable. One thing was certain, Owyn thought – this person was shorter than he had remembered Jackie to be.

"Amazin', isn't it, Electra?" Scirocco asked, "it ain't even four, but when we come, those kids in the park, they look up and see us and run like it's for 'ere lives. They know who's boss 'round 'ere."

"And it's not you." Owyn said, making him scowl. He hopped from the climbing frame, ready to face his challenger, whom, he recognised, was not Jackie.

Instead, it was the girl who'd been with him.

Chantelle was exhausted from the long walk, but determined to fight. Her launcher was clutched in one hand, her Bellfire bey in the other.

"Are you the Blade Bandits?" she asked.

"What's it to you?" said Owyn, "who are you?"

"I'm Chantelle, a friend of Jackie's."

"Well, Chantelle," Scirocco sneered, "we don't play nice with amateur bladers, but we'll let you off this once since you ain't been 'ere before. Our letter was addressed to the Perseus familiar, so why don't you take a – "

"The letter was in my bag!" she squealed, indignantly.

"What's this?" Owyn asked. "Sciro, I thought you said you put it in Jackie's bag."

Scirocco turned away, looking annoyed. "I thought it was."

"I'd never let you try to take Jackie's bit-beast, anyway!" Chantelle continued. Fire blazed in her eyes. "Why? Because he's my friend, and I know how much his bit-beast means to him! You must've seen us at the shrine together, right? Of course, that's how you slipped the letter in my bag! But what you didn't know was I'd never – "

"Argh…" Owyn moaned, pushing his fingers into his earholes. "She talks too much."

"Scirocco's right, Chantelle." Electra said, with a quiet and reassuring voice. "You have to leave, now. We're the Blade Bandits. Our aim is to quench the world of weak beybladers and take back what is rightfully Owyn's, the protector bit of Clow. You need to turn around and leave, now… or face the same fate as the other kids around here…"

"I'm not scared of you! That's why I came to fight!" Chantelle retaliated.

Owyn casually reached for his launcher, sensing a battle coming on, but Scirocco beat him to it.

"Shall I take 'em, Owyn?" he asked, stepping forward. "Well, I don't need your consent, actually, do I? We're a team, you're not my leader or anythin'."

Scirocco laughed and assumed a stance opposite Chantelle.

"Order up."

"The coca cola's my order!" Maxie said, grabbing the glass. She drained it quickly, and the slurping noises she made disturbed the surrounding customers.

Ashley sighed. Nemo rolled her eyes and looked away. Stanley looked for something to talk about as they drank.

"So, how's Jordan?"

"Not well." said Ashley, "We left her in the tent. She seems to think she's back in Gaia, doesn't she, Nemo?"

"It's not unheard of, she was always an idiot." Nemo replied. "Just one more day, then we can get out of this dump."

"Oi, mind talking about my hometown with a lil' more respect, won't ya'?" said Stanley, annoyed.

"Your hometown is a dump." Nemo snapped at him. "We were planning to go to Clow, but then we got stranded here instead. We would've left yesterday if our beyblades hadn't got trashed by those pretend cowboys."

"You mean you would've left yesterday if you hadn't been so weak!" Maxie piped up.

"Shut up, your bey got trashed too, Maxie."

"I don't see why we have ta' go to Clow, though!" Maxie said, "all 'cause you wanna' rematch that Jackie guy or something! I say, screw 'im, let's go someplace else!"

"Oh, of course you wouldn't understand." Nemo said, reaching over and patting her head. "You're not a true beyblader, you don't know what it means to settle a score."

Maxie slapped her hand away and glowered at her. Nemo laughed, cruelly.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," said Nemo, "what's the Perseus bit?"

Stanley looked up. "That's the bit the Blade Bandits are suppos'd to be searching for. It's said the reason they love trashin' kid's beys so much is 'cause they're trainin' themselves up to find it and take it back."

"Perseus is supposed to live in Clow somewhere, right?" Nemo asked.

Stanley nodded. She continued, "that Jackie guy said he owned the protector bit of Clow or something. What if they're the same bit? What if they've been looking for Jackie the whole time?"

"If they have, it sounds like they found him," Ashley said, "judging by what that girl said yesterday when she interrupted the battle."

"They've been searchin' for ages. Like, months." said Stanley, "that's 'ow long they've been causin' trouble here. Thing is, most of the stuff they do goes unnoticed 'cause they get away before the adults can stop 'em…"

He looked at them all, and shrugged. "I never heard of this Jackie person, but I'm sure I heard of this protector bit before. Maybe ya'll are right, maybe it is the same bit."

"What's the chances of that…" Maxie muttered.

"Whatever, it's just a thought." Nemo said, "I don't really care, but if I want to battle Jackie again, I want us to both have our bit-beasts."

They drank until they were finished, then Ashley said, "shall we go pay and then find Jordan? Maybe she's seen a cute boy walking past the tent and feels better…"

They paid and left the inn. The park was right next to the inn, and when they saw Chantelle and Scirocco in battle, they exchanged shocked looks and ran over to meet them.

"You ready?!" asked Scirocco.

Chantelle nodded. "Three… two… one… let it rip!"

Bellfire and Scorpius fell in front of their owners. Scirocco put his pistol launcher back on his belt, sneering.

"Bellfire, attack!" Chantelle shouted. Her red bey came for Scorpius and they collided. Scorpius brushed it effortlessly away, however.

"Her offense is weak. Knew this would be a disappointment." Owyn muttered to Electra.

"Don't give up now!" Chantelle shouted.

Bellfire swerved around Scorpius, and came in for another attack. This time, Scorpius seemed to drift into the ground and disappeared within the sand. Bellfire skated over the place where it was.

Chantelle blinked. "What the – how did you do that? That's totally unfair!"

"Not unfair at all," Scirocco jibed, "that just proves you don' really know anythin' about bein' a familiar, do ya'?"

Suddenly, Scorpius re-appeared a few yards away. It ran up the border of the climbing frame and took to the skies.

"Woah!" Chantelle squinted to see the bey's outline leap over Bellfire.

"Watch out!" Ashley screamed, "he's about to use his bit-beast attack, he's going to attack you with needles!"

Chantelle turned and saw the group hurrying towards her. Her eyes widened as she heard Scirocco command his attack:

"Scorpio, sting shower."

Chantelle stepped back to avoid the deluge of needles, and slid behind one of the poles of the swing. She peered back around the pole, waiting for the attack to end.

"Thanks!" she called to the group.

"What are you doing, battling him?" Ashley said, "don't you know he's one of the Blade Bandits? They destroy beys like yours! Quick, return it and run away as fast as you c – "

"Yeah, you can do it, girl, woo-hoo!" Maxie shouted, "you take those bandits down! You make 'em pay for what they did to our beys!"

Scirocco looked down. His sneer was gone.

His Scorpius bey had landed, and, spinning right next to it, was Bellfire. It had pulled in directly beneath his bey for the duration of the attack in order to avoid the needles.

"Long range attacks don't work short range!" Chantelle said, walking around to face her opponent. "Nice try, though. Keep it up, Bellfire!"

"What's this, are you having trouble, Sciro?" Owyn asked, smirking.

"No way, this girl just got lucky those has-beens showed up." Scirocco glared in the group's direction. "Never mind. Scorpio, disappear."

The Scorpius bey tilted and ducked underground. Chantelle watched it sink, and Bellfire pulled away.

"I have no idea where it's going to go next…" Chantelle said, looking at the sand.

"Brats like these who act tough need to learn a lesson, that's why the Blade Bandits were formed," Scirocco muttered to himself. "Alright, re-appear, Scorpio!"

Chantelle stumbled. His bey had re-appeared in front of her. It used the pole to propel itself into the air, again; this time hanging dangerously above her.

"Sting shower!"

"No!" cried Ashley.

Chantelle let out a piercing scream. She covered her head and felt sharp pains all over her body as she was consumed by needles from every direction.

Owyn and Electra gasped, moving forwards.

"Scirocco – you're going too far!" cried Electra.

"So what? This is what we do, right? Quench the weak?" Scirocco shrugged, watching his bey fall. Bellfire had been within range for the attack, and it was wobbling. It looked like tiny bits had been chipped off its attack ring.

Scirocco sneered again. "Look at that… her bey's slowin' down. Looks like it's in bad shape, I'll finish 'er off."

"Nemo, shouldn't we do something?" Ashley squealed.

Nemo crossed her arms. "Nah, it's their battle. We'll help her once it's over."

Chantelle had dropped to her knees, wincing in pain and feeling blood trickle down her arms and back. Scorpius had disappeared into the sand.

She watched the sand carefully. Bellfire didn't move, but instead continued to wobble.

"It's going to re-appear underneath me," she whispered, conducting a strategy. "That's my chance!"

Sure enough, she spotted the shadow of Scorpius' attack ring before it emerged from the sand.

"NOW!" Chantelle shouted, clambering to her feet. "Attack, Bellfire!"

Scirocco's eyes widened. "Wha – "

Bellfire had jumped over his bey as it rose, narrowly missing the broth of his attack. It landed and swerved, crashing into the defenceless Scorpius bey.

Scorpius landed at Scirocco's foot and stopped spinning. Bellfire burst into pieces moments later, the last of its power drained by that sacrificial attack.

Now it was Chantelle's turn to sneer, and she did so, panting hard. The needles had disappeared.

"Do you – know how Duke William of Normandy – won the Battle of Hastings?" she stuttered between breaths, "he pretended to retreat – then Harold Godwinson's army followed – and he fell into a trap! Like I did – with Bellfire! I took you by surprise!"

"No way…" Scirocco mumbled, taken aback.

Chantelle fell forwards on her knees, and then collapsed to the ground. Nemo, Maxie, Ashley and Stanley rushed forward to check on her.

Owyn smirked. "Pathetic. Like, your worst battle on so many levels, Sciro."

"She got lucky – "

"Sure she did. And your unnecessary attack on her was an accident. You make me sick sometimes, man…"

"She's completely exhausted, but the needles are gone, at least…" Ashley said, kneeling over Chantelle.

"Right. Should we call a doctor, or just get her back to the tent?" asked Stanley.

Nemo stood up as they talked, and approached the Blade Bandits by the exit of the park.

"Wait." She called to Owyn, and he stopped walking.

"I'm not battlin' you again. I've got other stuff to do." He said, flicking the tip of his hat.

"It's not that, my bey's still being repaired," Nemo told him. "I wanted to ask you guys something. Why do you want the Perseus bit?"

Owyn turned to face her. He looked contemplative by the light of the dying Sun. Electra placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well," he began, "it's a long story. Let's put it that way."

"We've got time." Nemo said, waving down Chantelle's injuries.

"Right," Owyn smirked at her. "Since you were my best opponent for a while, I'll tell ya'. Do you know why this place is called Ghoul Valley?"

"Because of the ghoul thingy that lives in the bell tower, right?"

"Right." Owyn nodded, "the ghoul… happens to be the ghost of a distant relative o' mine… my great great great… you get the picture… great aunt."

"Ghosts aren't real."

"What's happened in the past," Owyn said, darkly, "is real. I've researched my family a while, and the valley. I grew up here."

He continued, "Ghoul Valley was built centuries ago as a sanctuary for wounded soldiers. People who were fightin' in wars. That's why this place is hidden away in the hills. It's narrow and shadowed by the hills so you can't really see it from above, and as a bonus it's right next to the bigger city o' Clow, so resources could easily be harboured from there to the folks who lived 'ere."

"There's somethin' else as well…" he said, looking into the distance. Nemo followed his eye line and saw what looked like a pavilion, etched into the landscape. "The Clow shrine… she stands over both the city and the valley. She's a symbol o' protection. The valley was built 'ere because they thought the bit of the shrine would watch over the valley and over the men whilst they were treated."

"The man who crafted this valley… I'm descended from 'im. The genealogy records are in the library, if you dun' believe me. He took possession o' the Perseus bit when it recognised 'im as a worthy familiar."

"Is Perseus the protector bit of Clow? The bit from the shrine?" Nemo asked.

Owyn nodded, and Nemo thought of Jackie. "Yeah."

"When me great, great, great, great… great grandfather passed away, the bit returned to the shrine and into the control o' the Clow councillors. His daughter took o'er the valley. They promised her she would be the rightful familiar, for her continued efforts to help the men who came from war."

Nemo noticed everyone else was silent, even Maxie; they were so absorbed in his story.

"Did… did she ever get the bit?" Ashley asked.

"No," Owyn said, resentfully. "She stood at the bell tower every evening 'till her death and the bit was never bought to her. And that's why we bandits aspire to take control o' the bit, and what's rightfully mine."

"That's illogical," Ashley said. Everyone looked at her. "Why would you go back on your great ancestor's wishes? They built the valley as a safeguard for everyone, and here you are, ruining people's beys and scaring the kids here."

Owyn turned away. Scirocco laughed at her response.

"Don't talk like that to 'im. You don't know what it's like, do ya'? When someone takes something that belongs to ya', and doesn't give it back…"

Nemo thought of her own Andromeda bit, and how it meant more to her than anything else in the world did. Then she thought of her parents, who would've done everything in their power to remove it from her possession, if they could.

"You guys'd better stay out our way. We came 'ere tonight expecting someone else." Owyn said, his back to them. "Tomorrow afternoon, we'll come by 'ere as usual and we'll go to the city. And we won't come back without the bit. You watch. C'mon, guys."

Scirocco picked up his bey. Together, the three bandits left the park. Nemo watched them fade into the sunset.

"We'd better take her back to the tent before it gets dark," said Stanley, motioning to Chantelle. "She's fine, I think… just needs some rest. And tonnes a' plasters."

"Good idea." Ashley nodded.

Nemo didn't talk at all on the way back to the tent.